Search - Articles

the broken knopper galls lying on the pavement. A knoppergall is a strange wrinkled and knobbly growth that distorts the acorn into a large sticky folded mass. It is caused by a minute midge-like creature, the gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis. As it lays

to the fact that the local wasps are making their nests out of our new front door and cling to it like limpets every time it is opened or closed, but this was different. The whole family ended up under the table to see exactly what was going on

nestling in the overlapping planks.These are the puparia of hoverflies, probably Epistrophe elegans, a distinctive little pale orange and brown wasp mimic, often the first species to appear on the wing in March and April. Resembling smooth translucent

and saw what was clearly a very distinctive spider that I knew I would not have much difficultly finding in an ID guide. I picked it up to have a look under the lens. Ouch. It's not at all human-lethal, but it was as sudden and painful as a wasp sting

in Britain. Although there are about 250 species of hoverfly in the UK, and roughly 100 of them are black and yellow wasp mimics, this one is immediately recognizable by its narrow parallel-sided body shape and the fact that some abdominal segments have two

not to worry. Unlike honeybees and wasps, bumblebees are very docile and not prone to attack even if you stand right in front of the nest entrance. Having said that, four-year-old picked up what he thought was a dead one on the path nearby and it promptly stung

times a year. Surrounded by evergreen oak woodland it was secluded, quiet and alive with wildlife.In the evenings I was fascinated by the fireflies, much brighter than our glow-worms. This mating pair was alight although unfortunately the flashguns

woodpeckers, witnessed blackbirds and robins fighting over territory, and sat a little too close to a wasps' nest.It's generally a very good habitat for wildlife: there's a mass of ivy to provide food and shelter for all manner of creatures, and something

. It was a hoverfly. Myathropa florea is a handsome and distinctive fly, both wasp-like in its colours, and honeybee-like in its size, build and vuvuzela buzz.What was it doing in the drain? It was probably egg laying. This is one of the hoverflies

salvage for the crumble.We don't have the most regimented of gardens, in fact it's a bit wild sometimes. But wildlife is, by definition, wild. As I said in the magazine, it has no time for straight lines, clipped edges, smart displays, or level lawns. We